One client, start to finish, in writing

The situation

A client — real or one you invent from a local business you know — needs a piece of work done: a logo, a spreadsheet, a short video, a translated document. You will write every message of that job in English, from the first reply to the closing note, the way the course taught: request first, short, and honest about what you cannot do.

What you'll be able to show

• Put the request in the first line and keep the message short
• Say what you cannot do without sounding weak
• Write a one-page proposal that opens with the client's problem in their words
• Close a job so the next one is easier to sell

What you need

• A document with the seven messages in order
• One person who will read your messages and tell you what they understood
• The structures from lessons 2, 3, 5 and 6

Tasks

1. 1The first reply
   The client has sent a vague message: "Need something for my shop, can you help?" Reply in four lines using the lesson 2 structure: what you understood, one question, what happens next, when.
   A correct result: Four lines; the question is the only thing they must answer.
2. 2The one you cannot do
   The client asks for something outside your skill (animation, say). Answer in the three parts from lesson 3: what you cannot do, what you can, what you suggest.
   A correct result: Three parts, and the message does not read as an apology.
3. 3Before and after the call
   Write the one-line purpose you would send before a fifteen-minute call. Then write the three-line summary you would send after it: agreed, next, by when.
   A correct result: One line before, three lines after.
4. 4The proposal
   Write a one-page proposal. Open with the client's problem in their words. Include what you will deliver, what it costs, when, and one thing you need from them.
   A correct result: One page; the first sentence is about them, not you.
5. 5Halfway: a delay
   Something has slipped by two days. Write the message that says so before they ask — what, why, the new date, what you are doing about it — in five lines or fewer.
   A correct result: Five lines, the new date stated, no excuse longer than one line.
6. 6The closing note
   The work is done. Write the three-section closing message from lesson 6: delivered, not included, suggested next.
   A correct result: Three sections; the third is a sales pitch that does not read as one.
7. 7The reader test
   Give all seven messages to somebody who has not seen this lab. Ask them, for each, what you want them to do. Record their answers and fix any message they got wrong.
   A correct result: Seven answers from the reader; every message they misread has been rewritten.

What to hand in

The seven messages in order, plus the reader's answers and the rewrites.

How it is marked